Selfridge ANG awaits start of sequester furloughs

$6 million in lost wages predicted from federal budget cuts

SELFRIDGE AIR NATIONAL GUARD BASE, MI – Furlough days tied to the federal sequester cuts are on hold for some 650 civilian and uniformed members of the Michigan Air National Guard at Selfridge Air National Guard Base. Base officials tell Local 4 they are still "waiting for final guidance," from the Pentagon.

The Base is awaiting word from the Defense Department on when to begin the cuts that would lead to days off without pay – in most cases, the loss of one paid workday per week during the sequestration period. TSgt. Dan Heaton, 127th Public Affairs Officer, says U.S. Defense Secretary Charles Hagel announced recently that the number of furlough days would likely drop from 22 to 14.

Courtesy: US Air Force

Hagel said federal law requires a 30 day notice before a federal worker is furloughed. That means that the earliest the cuts could begin would be late May or early June. They would run through September 30.

The 127th Wing's workforce includes almost 300 civilians and more than 300 military technicians - full-time civilian employees who are required to serve in the Air National Guard as a condition of their employment.

In addition to the 127th Wing personnel who will be impacted, another 500 employees who work for other federal military and homeland security agencies at Selfridge will be impacted by the furlough.

At Selfridge, civilians and military technicians perform a number of critical functions, including aircraft maintenance, intelligence, logistics, contracting and medical readiness.